RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina Reps. David Price and Brad Miller said an $819 billion stimulus bill working through Congress will save or create about 130,000 North Carolina jobs in the months ahead.

The two lawmakers spoke about the measure Thursday at an Employment Security Commission center in Raleigh.

The stimulus plan that passed the U.S. House on Wednesday night would send more than $4 billion to North Carolina over about two years. Nearly $2 billion would go to North Carolina’s state government to prevent big layoffs as Raleigh struggles with a budget hole reaching into the billions.

Almost $1 billion would fund North Carolina transportation and infrastructure projects, but that’s the bottom when compared to state populations.

North Carolina members of the U.S. House of Representatives will give an overview and share their priorities for upcoming Congress as well as answer questions at the Triangle Chambers’ Federal Issues Forum at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Bide Auditorium at GlaxoSmithKline.

U.S. Representative Bob Etheridge was recently appointed to the Ways and Means Committee for the 111th Congress and is the only North Carolina member to serve on this committee.

U.S. Representative David Price serves as the House Appropriations Committee Chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee and is also a member of the Appropriations Subcommittees of Interior and Environment and on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development.

U.S. Representative Brad Miller is the first person elected to North Carolina’s new 13th Congressional District. He serves as chairman of the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight of the Science and Technology Committee along with serving on the Financial Services and Foreign Affairs Committee.

The Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce is the Triangle’s largest non-profit business membership organization made up of over 2,700 member firms representing 70 percent of the private sector employment in Wake County. The Chamber has represented the interests of the local business community since 1888.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Congressman Brad Miller (D-NC) is hosting an Inaugural Town Hall Meeting at the Raleighwood Cinema Grill for anyone interested in sharing their views about the economy, foreign policy, priorities for the 111th Congress and watching the Inauguration Swearing-In ceremony of President-elect Barack Obama.

“This exciting time in America has generated unprecedented interest,” said Rep. Miller. “I regret that my office had such a limited number of Inauguration tickets to distribute, but I hope this celebration provides an opportunity for many more people to share the enthusiasm.”

The Congressman’s office was allocated 198 tickets for the Inaugural Swearing-in ceremony in Washington and received several thousand requests.

The town hall meeting will begin at 10 a.m. Jan. 20.  Miller’s Raleigh office will be distributing opinion surveys and caseworkers will be on hand to answer questions about dealing with federal agencies.

The Congressman invites people to stay from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. to watch the Inaugural Swearing-in Ceremony. A buffet barbecue lunch will be provided. Reservations are required for this town hall meeting and will be on a first come/first serve basis. The Raleighwood Cinema holds a capacity crowd of 300.

To RSVP, call (919) 836-1313, or e-mail RSVPNC13@mail.house.gov.

There will be also be ample opportunity for anyone to be part of the Inaugural activities in Washington, D.C. without a ticket. The entire National Mall, from 3rd Street to the Washington Monument will be open to the public. The Inaugural podium will be visible from the length of the National Mall, and there will be large screen televisions on which to see and hear the swearing in ceremony and President Obama’s Inaugural address. 

In addition, there will be an Inaugural Parade and various Inaugural Balls. Below are links to web sites with information about Inauguration events in Washington:

http://inaugural.senate.gov

http://inauguration.dc.gov

http://www.afic.northcom.mil

RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina Rep. Brad Miller said Monday he’s not interested in challenging U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, scratching his own name from an early list of prospects as the search for candidates begins.

Democrats are eager to take a run at Burr, who is up for re-election for the first time in 2010, and the party hopes to maintain momentum that swept them to the brink of a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate this year.

Miller is a three-term Democratic lawmaker whose district stretches from Raleigh to Greensboro. He was courted to challenge

Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole for last month’s election. Miller declined to run against Dole and went on to comfortably win re-election to the House.

When he passed on the bid last year, Miller explained that the campaign would have turned his life upside down at a time that he was focusing on important issues in the House. This time, Miller was a little more blunt, saying he’s not even interested in going through the process of considering the bid.

“I don’t want to spend 18 months of my life having people in Washington tell me how to be Southern,” Miller said.

Miller was one of several Democrats to avoid Dole, and some Democratic strategists had suggested that she should get a pass because of her broad name recognition and lengthy experience in Washington. But state Sen. Kay Hagan ended up joining the race to challenge Dole and in November, unseated the GOP senator by a comfortable margin as Democratic leaders in Washington spent millions on negative ads targeting Dole.

Miller has said he has no regrets about his decision to stay in his seat.

Democrats around Raleigh have also mentioned a number of other possible challengers for Burr, including Attorney General Roy Cooper, State Treasurer Richard Moore and Rep. Heath Shuler. Each of them are mum about the prospect.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Brad Miller of Raleigh plans a news conference in Washington today to promote legislation that would allow home mortgages to be restructured in bankruptcy like other types of personal debt.

U.S. Rep. Brad Miller was impressed that President-elect Barack Obama mispronounced Peter Orszag’s name.

U.S. Reps. Bob Etheridge, David Price and Brad Miller will host their annual briefing honoring Veterans, on Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the Gov. Kerr Scott Building at the N.C. State Fairgrounds. Representatives from local VA offices will speak, and Reps. Price and Etheridge will give an update on recent actions Congress has taken.

In May Congress passed, and the President signed, a new G.I. Bill of Rights restoring full funding of higher education benefits for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. N.C. Senator-elect Kay Hagan is also expected to attend.

The event will take place at the Kerr Scott Building at the state fairgrounds.

Hagan’s schedule also includes the North Carolina A&T’s 3rd Annual Veterans Celebration at noon at the Memorial Student Union, Stallings Ballroom, 1601 E. Market St. in Greensboro.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Democratic Rep. Brad Miller has retained his seat in North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District by defeating Republican Hugh Webster.

The Associated Press called the race for Miller based on an analysis of voter interviews, conducted for the AP by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.

Miller campaigned for investments in alternative energy sources and for trade agreements he said would protect American jobs. Webster spent six terms in the state Senate. Democrats ousted him in 2006 after he voted against raising teacher salaries but in favor of his own pay raise. Webster wanted to scrap the tax code, and secure the borders.

The predominantly Democratic district stretches from Raleigh to Greensboro.

RALEIGH, N.C.- A Republican congressional candidate has agreed not to identify himself as a certified public accountant.

Hugh Webster of Burlington is challenging Democratic Rep. Brad Miller of Raleigh in the 13th Congressional District.

Webster said Monday he hasn’t been a CPA for several years and removed the label from his letterhead. But a brass sign on his place of business still identified him as one.

Webster signed a consent agreement in September with the North Carolina State Board of Certified Public Accountant Examiners in which he agreed to identify himself only as an “accountant.” Webster says he put tape over the sign, too.

Webster, a former state senator, say the whole situation is political.
 
Campaign spokeswoman Luann Canipe says Miller believes the order speaks for itself.